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Foreclosure

Fitch Sees Drop in Subprime Delinquencies as Default Swap Prices Rise

Recent improvements in the job market are translating into falling subprime delinquency rates. At the same time, prices on subprime credit-default swaps (CDS) have risen for five straight months. Multiple reports on the secondary market signal growing investor appetite for subprime mortgage bonds and finance instruments like CDS, which transfer the risk of default from the bond holder to the seller of the swap. According to Fitch, subprime delinquencies are dropping sharply with cured loans up by as much as 50 percent for some vintages.

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Fannie Mae Announces 3.5% Buyer Assistance on REO Properties

Fannie Mae announced Monday that borrowers purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned property through HomePath, the GSE's REO disposition operation, will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance. The company has implemented this temporary buyer assistance program fairly regularly since the beginning of last year -- a strategy aimed at helping the GSE unload a bloated supply of repossessed homes. Fannie Mae acquired 262,078 single-family REO properties through foreclosure in 2010, compared with 145,617 in 2009.

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FHA Mortgagee Review Board Settles with Massachusetts Lender

The Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board has settled with Massachusetts mortgage lender First American Mortgage Trust (FAMT) for failing to verify whether borrowers could sustain mortgage payments prior to refinancing loans. FAMT agreed to pay $72,500, reimburse FHA for past insurance claims, and indemnify FHA's insurance fund for any claims to be paid on certain mortgages should they default within the next 60 months.

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Fair Housing Investigation Uncovers Corrupt Loan Mod Practices

Four fair housing organizations have released their findings of a year-long undercover investigation of 80 loan modification companies, which reveal a host of corrupt practices scammers employ to target homeowners in distress. According to the report, 55 percent of loan modification companies required an upfront fee to start work or a low initial fee to conduct minimal work, such as reviewing loan documents. Twenty-four percent advised or encouraged homeowners to stop making mortgage payments or stop contacting their lenders.

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Fannie Mae to Sell 25% Stake in Foreclosed Apartment Portfolio

Fannie Mae is planning to unload a 25 percent stake in its stock of foreclosed apartment buildings. The buyer - Related Companies, a New York-based firm founded by real estate mogul Stephen Ross, also of Miami Dolphins ownership fame. The deal reportedly also includes an option for Related Cos. to buy an ownership stake in any multifamily properties Fannie forecloses on in the future.

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Real Property Insight Selects Mercury Network for New Valuation Service

The Oklahoma-based technology developer a la mode has teamed up with Real Property Insight to bring the industry a new valuation service for distressed assets. Real Property Insight is a specialized integrator of information and services focused on distressed asset disposition, and the company has selected a la mode's Mercury Network Vendor Management Platform to manage the valuation portion of its new product, the Real Property Insight (RPI) Report. a la mode estimates this valuation service will save the industry approximately $72 billion.

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Mortgage Mods Slip Below 100K Mark for First Time in Over a Year

Mortgage servicers had been completing over 100,000 loan modifications per month since late 2009, but that streak came to an end in February. HOPE NOW reports that 87,083 homeowners received permanent loan modifications - through both proprietary and government programs - during the month of February. That's about 14 percent fewer than the previous month and the first time the organization's modification tally has fallen below the 100K mark in nearly a year and a half.

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Florida Housing Launches Hardest-Hit Fund Program Statewide

Unemployed or underemployed homeowners in Florida having difficulty paying their mortgages can apply for financial assistance from the Florida Hardest-Hit Fund beginning April 18. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation has been conducting a pilot of its Hardest-Hit foreclosure prevention program since October, and is now opening them up statewide. The agency has made several changes to the program, which is now expected to provide assistance to twice as many homeowners as previously estimated.

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Washington AG’s Investigation Uncovers Trustee Violations

The Washington Attorney General's Office says it has uncovered another problem that jeopardizes homeowners' chances of stopping a foreclosure - difficulty contacting trustees. Washington law requires foreclosure trustees maintain offices in the state and local phone numbers, but officials have discovered that some of the largest trustees are not in compliance, making it difficult for borrowers to legitimately stop foreclosure actions.

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Distressed Sales Drag Down Home Prices: CoreLogic

Analysis of home prices through the end of February by CoreLogic shows a year-over-year decline of 6.7 percent when distressed properties - REO and pre-foreclosure short sales - are included in the numbers. February's drop marked the seventh straight month that CoreLogic has recorded a decline in its national home price index. But take out the distressed factor, and the company says home prices are showing signs of stability, down just 0.1 percent from a year ago.

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